The Hands Of A Clock
by pyxistar
Summary: It's been a year since Hawkmoth's defeat. Team Miraculous is working with a small team to uncover the secrets of the corrupted peacock miraculous to save the two sick (former) holders, Emilie and Nathalie. All the while Marinette deals with the stress of her duties, adulthood, and her failing relationship with Luka...


Growing up is a new frontier. The exploration of adulthood feels like climbing to the peak of Mount Everest, sometimes even higher. Your head gets clouded from the stress of taxes, bills, living paycheck-to-paycheck, struggling with employment. Marinette was grateful for the time her parents allowed her to work in the bakery, but slaving over a hot stove wasn't the way she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

She twirled one of her earrings quietly and sucked her lower lip into her mouth and between her teeth. "I don't know Tikki." Marinette whispered. She was sitting at her desk, eyeing another letter that'd been sent to her in the mail. "Being Ladybug is great, but...I don't know. I can't keep a job, my relationship is failing...I'm beginning to think he'll /never/ propose. I'm thinking about finding a new Ladybug. Someone younger."

Tikki jerked upright. She'd spent the last half hour snuggling into the crook of Marinette's shoulder, feeling the vibrations of her voice as she vented. Tikki darted in front of her, leaving her shoulder and neck vulnerable to the harsh breath of winter. "But we're so close to figuring out what corrupted the peacock miraculous."

A sigh. "Are we?" Marinette stood up and paced across the floor. "Hawkmoth has been in custody for almost a year now. Adrien's been using the money his family company makes to finance an actual investigation led by Max, while the rest of us — Alya, Nino, Chloé, me — try to get Gabriel to crack. But he doesn't seem at all interested in helping us, even if it means saving his wife and Nathalie."

"Marinette —"

"If you ask me, we're no closer to cracking this case than we were when we first started." She turned then and stared directly into the eyes of her kwami. The old and wise Tikki, who'd been by her side for almost five years now. Her blue eyes were glazed over with frost, a bitter glint in her usually sunny optics. Marinette sighed again and gently cupped Tikki into the palm of her hands. "I want to be a fashion designer. I want to settle down with my boyfriend and have a family without worrying about putting them in danger. We don't know anything about the corruption of the miraculous. What if it can spread..?"

"You are the best Ladybug I've ever had." Tikki finally whispered against her fingertips. She nuzzled her face against Marinette's skin. "You're the only one I trust to lead this mission...and to save my friend, Dusuu. Now that Hawkmoth's been defeated, I don't see why you can't settle down and be Ladybug."

"And sneak out every night? He'll grow suspicious. And I can't tell him I'm Ladybug and what we're up to, either. He'll never be okay with me facing Hawkmoth every night or exposing myself to such...sickness."

Tikki puckered her lips for a moment. Marinette ran her tongue over her lips. She wondered what kind of young girl or boy would be willing to take up such a daunting task. There'd be many that would think they want to be Ladybug, but how many would give up once they realize what it entails?

She padded quietly to her bed and sat down, gently placing Tikki back onto her former perch on her shoulder. Just as she went to grab her blanket to shield herself from the frosty December air, Tikki gasped.

"What?" Marinette said. "What is it?"

"Marinette, I think I have an idea."

—-

"Ouch!" She hissed. She popped the inflamed finger into her mouth and sucked on it, trying to pretend that the way it pulsed didn't bother her as much as it did.

"Don't touch the baking sheet, Marinette! It's still hot." She heard her mother holler from the other room. Marinette turned the kitchen facet on and made sure the water was cold before she thrusted her hand underneath it. The gentle touch of the water against her finger made her sigh in relief.

"/Now/ you tell me," she muttered. Small giggles erupted from Marinette's purse. "Oh hush!"

"Talking to yourself again?"

A bloodcurdling shriek followed. Marinette instinctively grabbed a spatula and turned towards the intruder. Her heart was galloping inside her chest, making it lurch forward as if it might run off without her.

Luka's crooked smirk greeted her when her gaze finally focused. "I come in peace." He raised his hands slowly into the air. Marinette rolled her eyes and gently jabbed him in the side with the spatula before she set it down onto the counter.

"You're lucky I didn't club you with the spatula. Don't sneak up on me!"

"Sorry," He hummed lightly. A small flicker of sunlight in his eyes made Marinette suspect that he wasn't very sorry at all. "You left the sink running."

"Crap!" Marinette spun around and turned the knob on the sink, silencing the trickling of the water. She couldn't hear it very well over the frantic drumming of her heart, anyway.

It was funny, Marinette thought, how differently the frontier of adulthood effected people. Luka looked so familiar with the faded, electric blue tips in his hair and the black and dark grays he used as the color palette for every outfit. His nails still had the same old, chipped black nail polish. But now he also had a nose ring and a few tattoos, like the little one on his wrist that Marinette didn't recognize and the older one on the back of his shoulder that Marinette had seen more than a thousand times. Nathaniel had designed it for him, some artistically drawn music notes as a homage to Luka's love for rock.

He carefully brushed his fringe away from his eyes and looked down at the platter of unfrosted sugar cookies. Some were shaped like Christmas trees, others snowflakes, snowmen, and present boxes with little bows. She gently smacked the back of his hand when it inched down to take one.

"Hey, those aren't done! And they're for my boyfriend." Marinette said. Luka laughed quietly and leaned back against the counter. One of his brows quirked up inquisitively.

"Oh yeah? And here I was hoping you were single." He winked.

Marinette pretended to gasp in shock. "Sorry to disappoint."

"What's his name?"

"Luka Couffaine. It's funny, you look a little like him."

"Luka!" Marinette's dad walked in and pulled Luka in for a hug. She heard his bones grind together and turn into dust. Luka wheezed out a small greeting and gasped when Tom finally released his hold on him. "We weren't expecting you for another hour. Sorry about the mess, we still have some work to do around here."

"That's okay. I was actually stopping by to tell Marinette I have to pull an extra shift tonight and I'll have to miss the Christmas party since the bakery in on the way to work." The grin that had twisted into her lips felt just as quickly as it appeared. And there it was, those avalanches that leave you wondering which way is up as the weight of the snow sits on your rib cage and makes it impossible to breathe.

"You promised. I've hardly seen you in a week!"

"I know and I'm sorry. But you're always busy on my days off and —" Luka began. Marinette cut him off.

"I know." She blinked away the beckoning tears. "But I thought...I thought we'd be able to enjoy the Christmas party together."

Tom gently placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Sometimes being an adult means —"

"Making sacrifices. I know." Marinette was beginning to wonder if the sacrifices were worth it, though. She felt she hardly knew Luka anymore, the boy with more tattoos than she remembered and nail polish that she hadn't painted onto his nails.

Luka quietly wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her hair, breathing in her cinnamon and sugar aroma. "I love you. I promise we'll be together for the holidays."

"I love you too, Luka."

—-

"Any new news?"

Queen Bee parted her lips in an unfaltering yawn. "Of course not. Rena's even tried pulling out the wife card again."

Ladybug turned and looked into the interrogation room. Rena Rouge stood inside, her frame compact. Her hands were clenched into fists. She seemed to be yelling now, frantically jerking her limbs around in a horrid display of frustration. Ladybug thought she heard Queenie groan a quick "not again" before she walked inside and pulled Rena out of the room, whose outraged profanities shot like bullets from her tongue.

And Hawkmoth, who did nothing but stare at the pictures of his wife spread across the table, said nothing.

—

Max pushed his glasses further up onto the bridge of his nose. "I think we're looking in the wrong direction."

Adrien and Plagg sighed at the same time. The two really seemed to rub off onto each other, Ladybug thought. She almost felt amused as she gazed at her longtime partner, but the implication of Max's words distracted her.

"What do you mean?" Marinette pressed. She pulled her beanie down around her ears, regretting her decision to try a new hair cut — a pixie cut, actually — so deep into the heart of winter. "The miraculous itself should have all the answers, shouldn't it? Or at least Emilie or Nathalie?"

"If there were any answers to be found scientifically, we would have found them already." Max looked back at the miraculous, displayed in a well-guarded glass case in the center of the room. "Which is why I suspect that the answer won't be found through any scientific means."

Now Adrien seemed intrigued. He leaned forward in his seat. A small, red bruise formed on his cheek from where he'd propped his head up with his fist only moments before. "You heard what Wayzz said. Looking at the miraculous with magic could do more harm than good! No miraculous has ever been corrupted before, we know nothing of the repercussions."

"But it may be the only way."

"What do you think, Marinette?" Adrien asked. Marinette sighed and glanced at Tikki, who blinked quietly at the window.

"I think...that it's a last resort. If we can't figure anything out by looking at the miraculous or its affects, maybe we can if we find the source of its corruption. I need to ask Hawkmoth where he found it." Marinette stood up from her chair. "And I'm going to need some help."

—-

The sun was just beginning to slip behind the towering skyscrapers in the distance. Against the backdrop of deep violet, navy blue, and black, there stood a man with electric blue in his hair and clear daylight glimmering in his eyes.

A few snowflakes began to sprinkle down from the heavens. Blistering squalls batted at Ladybug as she sat on her perch on the top of the skyscraper, watching Luka make his way back to his boathouse from work. He seemed to be listening to music, or at least she thought he was, based on the occasional bobbing of his head in-sync with a melody she couldn't hear.

A small cloud bled from her parted lips as she breathed. Then she glanced down at the snake miraculous clasped in her hand.

 _"Marinette, I think I have an idea." Tikki crooned. She whizzed around the room in glee, her eyes shining like the sun did at the break of day. She finally paused to look back at Marinette, who'd forgotten all about the chill nipping at her fingertips and toes._

 _"I'm not breaking up with him." Marinette said, raising a finger in warning. Tikki laughed._

 _"You know I wouldn't ask that of you." She hummed. "But what if Luka didn't care about you sneaking out once you finally get your apartment?"_

 _Marinette pursed her lips. An intriguing concept, although a highly improbable one. Still, she entertained her kwami by leaning forward and prompting, "How would that work?"_

 _"By giving him his own miraculous, of course!"_

Tikki had been so proud of herself. Ladybug could still feel the slight tingles of Tikki's excitement in the back of her mind. She shook the thought away and used her yo-yo to propel herself to the other side of the street, closer to Luka's position at the bus stop. His home was a long way to walk on such a cold night.

Curiously she glanced around. A few other people were peppered around the street. There wasn't any alleyways in the vicinity, either, but she couldn't be seen giving him a miraculous in the open. She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

The wind picked up, screeching in her ears. It beat her skin raw and red. Ladybug reached up and gingerly rubbed her earlobes, which were partially encased in ice from the sleet. It was quickly becoming a less-than-ideal night. Maybe it was a bad idea anyway. She wasn't sure if she wanted him involved in such a delicate operation...especially since she hadn't even talked to Adrien about it.

They never acted on anything without consulting each other. She'd never tell Alya, but working with him in so many life-or-death situations over the years had made him her best and most trusted friend.

Ladybug sighed and turned to leave when a (admittedly rash) idea popped into her head.

 _"No way! The miraculous I give him could get corrupted. Or I get him involved only for the strain on our relationship to worsen. We barely see each other as it is." Marinette folded her arms._

 _She couldn't bare the thought of watching one of her friends getting weaker as a corrupted miraculous drained the very essence of life from their bodies. How could she bare to see the love of her life go through it without compromising their mission or finding a way to trade in her soul for his? And then what, would they be forever forced into a cycle of losing miraculous and their chosen to whatever ails the peacock miraculous?_

 _Tikki slowly flew to Marinette's side again. "It'll be the best for the both of you. Luka is smart and calm. I can't think of anyone better to have a miraculous. Maybe he's the key to getting information from Gabriel. He doesn't even have to go near the peacock miraculous until we know it's safe."_

Ladybug swooped down from the building she stood on. She held onto her yo-yo string tightly as she snatched Luka off the ground — "Hey! What's going on?!" — and circled back around onto the rooftop, where the winds were not barricaded and the sleet clawed at them with its icy fingers.

She gently sat Luka on the ground, who eyed her in awe. "Ladybug? What —"

"Shh." She put her fingers on his lips and hushed him. "Listen closely. Luka Couffaine, I hereby give you the snake miraculous to be my partner on a very important mission."


End file.
